Rockland kids slam state exams, write to Cuomo: 'We're only in third grade for heaven sakes' [View all]
Third-grader Crystal Martinez was shy and quiet when reading her letter about the standardized state test aloud, but her writing was pointed.
"I know the governor wants us to be 'college ready,' but we are only in third grade for heaven sakes," Crystal wrote.
She and her classmates -- 8- and 9-year-old third-graders at Thiells Elementary School in the North Rockland Central School District -- needed an outlet for their frustration and stress over state tests this past April. Their teacher, Maria Eliakostas, says they talked it out with her, but that didn't seem to do the trick.
So, Principal Peter DiBernardi and Eliakostas decided to have the students write letters.
The result: more than 20 letters decorated with hearts, smiley faces and star drawings, but brimming with stress, frustration and tough questions about the wisdom of the rigorous state exams.
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